The President visited the border for the first time in August last year. The Russian-Latvian border fence will be completed next year, and the next step is to build up the military infrastructure so that not only the surveillance but also the defense of the border is secure, the President said.
"The border will never be ready, because new things and new challenges are emerging all the time. It is just a fence, then there will be sensors. At the moment, many countries bordering Russia are talking about a drone reinforcement," the President said.
The National Armed Forces are assigned to work on a stretch of under 20 kilometers, while construction companies are working elsewhere. On the banks of the Rītupe River, the soldiers committed to finish the work in September, and now a third of it is done.
Andris Rieksts, an officer of the National Armed Forces Joint Staff, said that "the river level here had risen and at the very beginning our guys and ladies got to work in the water. One section hit practically knee-deep water. But that was in April, now nature has sorted itself out."
In places, not only does the barbed wire have to be rolled out, the mesh screwed in and the stakes driven, but also the drainage pipe has to be replaced. Even that will not be enough, the President said.
He also believes that local governments should change their attitude and actions in security matters. Asked whether the long queues of trucks at the border could be solved, the President called for a reduction and an end to business with Russia and Belarus.
"We can forget about some feeling that the war will end and all trade will resume. We call, however, for a reduction in business volumes, both with Russia and Belarus, and an end to them," Rinkēvičs said.
He stressed that the eastern border is NATO and European Union territory and there is no doubt that support from allies will be there in the first second "in case of any cataclysms". But at the same time, there is a lot of unfinished homework.
"To tell you the truth, sometimes I would like to wake everyone up - not only those sitting in ministries in Rīga, but also those sitting in municipalities. There are municipalities that have very different attitudes - there are those that pay a lot of attention to it, but there are those that need to be threatened a little to do their homework with civil protection plans," Rinkēvičs said.
The equipping of the border with technical equipment is planned to start in autumn. Most of the costs will be covered by the European Union. The EU is spending money on border surveillance, to curb migration, but not enough on defense, the President said.
There are also sections of the Latvian-Russian border where the fence was built several years ago. No new construction is planned now, but the border guard says it should be. For example, a fence could be built in another line.
"It is relatively calm at the Russian border, but we have caught several people who have left Latvia for Russia. There was a person with the intention to fight on the Russian side against Ukraine. Therefore, a lot of attention is being paid to security from this point of view as well," said Guntis Pujāts, Head of the State Border Guard Service.
On Tuesday the government approved the allocation of ten million euros to the Ministry of Defense to ensure the implementation of the plan to strengthen Latvia's eastern border.
